The Chinese Bamboo Partridge(Bambusicola thoracica) is a gamebird endemic to China.Ten polymorphic microsatellite(simple sequence repeat) markers were obtained through cross-species amplification for this partridge fr...The Chinese Bamboo Partridge(Bambusicola thoracica) is a gamebird endemic to China.Ten polymorphic microsatellite(simple sequence repeat) markers were obtained through cross-species amplification for this partridge from its relative species Gallus gallus.The number of alleles per locus varied from 4 to 13.The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.1220 to 1.0000 and the expected heterozygosity from 0.1183 to 0.8898.Four microsatellite loci showed significant differences from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.These polymorphic loci provide a valuable tool for the investigation of the phylogeography and conservation genetics of this partridge.展开更多
How different factors and techniques affect concentration and generation of dust in a floor housing system for laying hens was investigated in a climate chamber. The efficiencies of different dust reducing measures we...How different factors and techniques affect concentration and generation of dust in a floor housing system for laying hens was investigated in a climate chamber. The efficiencies of different dust reducing measures were investigated. A major part of the generated dust settled on different surfaces inside the building. The settling rate of dust was affected by the concentration of dust in the air. The settled amount of dust also stood in relation to the floor area of the stable. An increased ventilation rate had a limited effect on the concentration of total dust due to the importance of the settling of the dust. The generation of dust was also investigated when using six different bedding materials, namely： gravel, clay pellets, peat, wood shavings, chopped straw and chopped paper. Clay pellets and peat resulted in the lowest concentrations of dust. Automatic spraying of small droplets of water reduced the dust concentration in four trials with different bedding materials （chopped paper, clay pellets, peat and wood shavings）. Spraying a mixture of rapeseed oil in water was also effective with an automatic spraying system.展开更多
Abstract We collected gravid gray rat snakes Ptyas korros from three geographically distinct populations in China, Chenzhou （CZ）, Jiangshan （JS） and Dinghai （DH）, to study geographical variation in female reprod...Abstract We collected gravid gray rat snakes Ptyas korros from three geographically distinct populations in China, Chenzhou （CZ）, Jiangshan （JS） and Dinghai （DH）, to study geographical variation in female reproductive traits. Egg-laying dates differed among the three populations such that at the most northern latitude egg-laying was latest, and earliest at the most southern latitutde. Clutch size, clutch mass, egg mass, egg shape, within clutch variability in egg sizes and relative clutch mass differed among the three populations, whereas post-oviposition body mass did not. Except for egg-laying date, none of the traits examined varied in a geographically continuous trend. CZ and DH females, although separated by a distance of approximately 1100 km as the crow flies, were similar in nearly all traits examined. JS females were distinguished from CZ and DH females by their higher fecundity （clutch size）, greater reproductive output （clutch mass） and more rounded eggs. Our data do not validate the prediction that larger offspring should be produced in colder localities. The absence of an egg size-number trade-off in each of the three populations presumably suggests that P. korros is among species where eggs are well optimized for size within a population.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30760036,30960051)Young Scientists (Jinggang Star) Training Scheme of Jiangxi ProvinceNatural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (2009GZN0075)
文摘The Chinese Bamboo Partridge(Bambusicola thoracica) is a gamebird endemic to China.Ten polymorphic microsatellite(simple sequence repeat) markers were obtained through cross-species amplification for this partridge from its relative species Gallus gallus.The number of alleles per locus varied from 4 to 13.The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.1220 to 1.0000 and the expected heterozygosity from 0.1183 to 0.8898.Four microsatellite loci showed significant differences from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.These polymorphic loci provide a valuable tool for the investigation of the phylogeography and conservation genetics of this partridge.
文摘How different factors and techniques affect concentration and generation of dust in a floor housing system for laying hens was investigated in a climate chamber. The efficiencies of different dust reducing measures were investigated. A major part of the generated dust settled on different surfaces inside the building. The settling rate of dust was affected by the concentration of dust in the air. The settled amount of dust also stood in relation to the floor area of the stable. An increased ventilation rate had a limited effect on the concentration of total dust due to the importance of the settling of the dust. The generation of dust was also investigated when using six different bedding materials, namely： gravel, clay pellets, peat, wood shavings, chopped straw and chopped paper. Clay pellets and peat resulted in the lowest concentrations of dust. Automatic spraying of small droplets of water reduced the dust concentration in four trials with different bedding materials （chopped paper, clay pellets, peat and wood shavings）. Spraying a mixture of rapeseed oil in water was also effective with an automatic spraying system.
基金The work was carried out in compliance with the current laws on animal welfare and research in China, and was supported by grants from Natural Science Foundation of China （30770378 and 31071910）, Zhejiang Provincial Foundation of Natural Science （Z3090461）, Hangzhou Bureau of Science and Technology （20100332T20） and Zhejiang Department of Science and Technology for Innovation Teams （2010R50039-26）. We thank Jian-Fang Gao, Rui-Bin Hu, Yan-Fu Qu and Ling Zhang for their help during the research.
文摘Abstract We collected gravid gray rat snakes Ptyas korros from three geographically distinct populations in China, Chenzhou （CZ）, Jiangshan （JS） and Dinghai （DH）, to study geographical variation in female reproductive traits. Egg-laying dates differed among the three populations such that at the most northern latitude egg-laying was latest, and earliest at the most southern latitutde. Clutch size, clutch mass, egg mass, egg shape, within clutch variability in egg sizes and relative clutch mass differed among the three populations, whereas post-oviposition body mass did not. Except for egg-laying date, none of the traits examined varied in a geographically continuous trend. CZ and DH females, although separated by a distance of approximately 1100 km as the crow flies, were similar in nearly all traits examined. JS females were distinguished from CZ and DH females by their higher fecundity （clutch size）, greater reproductive output （clutch mass） and more rounded eggs. Our data do not validate the prediction that larger offspring should be produced in colder localities. The absence of an egg size-number trade-off in each of the three populations presumably suggests that P. korros is among species where eggs are well optimized for size within a population.
